The Consulate General of India, Houston inaugurated the PSP in Houston along with a team led by Minister of State for External Affairs, General (Retd) V K Singh.

US Secretary of State Mike Pompeo and Defence Secretary Jim Mattis are headed to India for the 2+2 talks with External Affairs Minister Sushma Swaraj and Defence Minister Nirmala Sitharaman on Thursday.

If passed by the US Congress and signed into a law, the United States-India Enhanced Cooperation Act would ensure that it treats India as a "Major Defence Partner" when it considers approval of defence sales to India.

During a Congressional hearing, Principal deputy assistant secretary of state for South and Central Asia, Alice Wells said that the US is looking forward to the "two-plus-two" dialogue with India in New Delhi in September.

Sources said India is exploring the possibility of reviving the rupee-rial arrangement for importing oil from Iran in the wake of US sanctions.

Alyssa Ayres, who served in the South and Central Asia Bureau of the State Department, made the remarks last week in New York during the launch of her latest book 'Our Time Has Come: How India is Making Its Place in the World'.